Show Promoter Jailed For Now

FLORIDA - The State - In Brief

MIAMI -- The promoter of a nonexistent Christmas pageant knew he was wanted but hid out while pitching a new show and defending himself in the media, a prosecutor said Friday.

David Lee Ellisor spent much of the court session grinning for a sketch artist as he waited for his bail hearing to begin. He could face a 20-year prison sentence if convicted of mail fraud.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick White continued the hearing until Wednesday on a government request to detain Ellisor until trial as a flight risk. If White denies the request, he would set a dollar figure for bail.

Ellisor, 51, is accused of collecting between $30,000 and $50,000 for shows that no one realized weren't real until busloads of schoolchildren showed up for the first event at the Coconut Grove Convention Center on Dec. 3.